Ultrasonic cleaning device

ABSTRACT

An ultrasonic cleaning device is provided which comprises a base unit and a cleaning chamber unit removably mounted on the base unit. An ultrasonic frequency transducer is attached to the bottom of a cleaning chamber, and the high frequency energy output of a high frequency oscillator circuit which is disposed within the base unit together with a power supply circuit is transmitted to the ultrasonic frequency transducer by electromagnetic induction coupling.

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I Honda 1] Nov. 13, 1973 ULTRASONIC CLEANING DEVICE OTHER PUBLICATIONS [76] Inventor: Kelsuke Honda, 37 Shrnyoshr-cho, Behrens w Portable Cleaner Sounds out Toyohashi'shi Aichi'ken Japan Toughest Dirts, Appliance Manufacturer, April, [22] Filed: May 8, 1972 1969, TK 7018 A6.

14 [21] No 8 Primary Examiner.lohn Petrakes Assistant Examiner-Philip R. C06

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Att0rney--Milt0r| J. Wayen et al.

May 15, 1971 Japan 46/32758 [57] ABSTRACT [52] cl 259/72 134/184 gfij gfi An ultrasonic cleaning device is provided which com- 1 Int Cl B0 11/02 Bosh prises a base unit and a cleaning chamber unit removably mounted on the base unit. An ultrasonic frequency transducer is attached to the bottom of a cleaning chamber, and the high frequency energy out- References Cited put of a hi gh frequency oscillator circuit which is disposed w1th1n the base un1t together w1th a power sup- UNxTED STATES PATENTS ply circuit is transmitted to the ultrasonic frequency 2. 11/1955 Heise 8 X transducer by electromagnetic induction coupling.

3,113,228 12/1963 Tolegian.... 259/010. 46 3,464,672 9/1969 Massa 259 111 s,3DrawmgF1gures [58] Field of Search... 259/DIG. 44, DIG. 46, 259/] R, 72, DIG. 41; 134/1, 184; 68/3 SS; 3lO/8.1

771772 0R IN 259/7 PMENIEDnuv 1:; 1915 FIG.

1 ULTRASONIC CLEANING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ultrasonic cleaning device which may be convenient in installation and operation.

Ultrasonic cleaning devices are widely used as they wash and clean various things in a very short time with high cleaning efficiency. The conventional ultrasonic cleaning device generally comprises a casing into which are disposed a cleaning chamber and an ultrasonic frequency transducer including all electrical circuit components, so that the ultrasonic cleaning device is large in size and heavy in weight. Furthermore, it has the disadvantage that the cleaning chamber cannot be removed from the casing so that it is very inconvenient to move it from one place to another. To overcome this disadvantage, in some of the conventional ultrasonic cleaning devices, the cleaning chamber is removably disposed in the casing, but the ultrasonic frequency transducer attached to the outer wall of the cleaning chamber is electrically coupled to the high frequency oscillator or the like in the casing through a cable or cord so that the latter must be disconnected from and connected again to the transducer whenever the clean ing chamber is removed from the casing. In other conventional ultrasonic cleaning devices, an ultrasonic frequency transducer unit connected through a cable to its associated circuits such as an oscillator circuit, a power supply circuit, etc. is dropped into the cleaning liquid in the cleaning chamber, but there is the disadvantage that the unit must be completely liquid-tightly sealed in order to prevent the cleaning liquid from entering into the unit.

One of the objects of the present invention is therefore to provide an ultrasonic cleaning device which may be very conveniently moved from one place to another for operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic cleaning device which generally comprises a base unit and a cleaning chamber unit removably mounted upon the base unit so that the cleaning chamber may be conveniently removed when required.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic cleaning device in which no cable or the like is used in electrically connecting the various electric circuits incorporated in the base unit with the ultrasonic frequency transducer incorporated in the cleaning chamber unit.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the base unit comprises a first cylindrical casing in which various electric circuits such as a power supply circuit, an oscillator, etc. are disposed. A first coil which is a part of the oscillator circuit is mounted upon the undersurface of a cover which seals the top of the first cylindrical casing. The cleaning chamber unit comprises a second cylindrical casing in which is disposed a cleaning chamber and which is removably mounted upon the base unit. A second coil is mounted in the upper surface ofa bottom of the second cylindritom of the cleaning chamber and is coupled to the seca nd coil through leads. Therefore in operation the high frequency output energy of the oscillator circuit is transmitted by the electro-magnetic induction coupling to the second coil in the cleaning chamber unit from the first coil in the base unit.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more appar ent from the following description ofone preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the outer appearance of a preferred embodiment of an ultrasonic cleaning device in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof taken along the line AA' of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of an ultrasonic frequency generator.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1, an ultrasonic cleaning device in accordance with the present invention generally comprises a base unit and an ultrasonic cleaning chamber unit 200 removably mounted upon the base unit 100. The base unit 100 incorporates therein various circuit components for a rectifier circuit, a high frequency oscillator circuit and so on, and has a plug socket 1 for connection with a source of commercial power supply and an on-off power switch 2. The cleaning chamber unit 200 incorporates an ultrasonic transducer to which is transmitted the high frequency electric energy from an oscillator circuit in the base unit 100 by the electromagnetic induction coupling so that no cable or cord connection between the base and cleaning chamber units 100 and 209 is required.

Component parts incorporated in the base unit 100 and the cleaning chamber unit 200 are shown in FIG. 2. The base unit 100 comprises a cylindrical casing 3 having a bottom 4 disposed in spaced apart relation with the lower end of the cylindrical casing 3 by a predetermined distance. The plate 6 of a printed-circuit is supported by a pair of supporting members 5 and S which in turn are disposed upon the bottom 4. Various circuit components such as a transformer T, capacitors C, resistors R and so on are mounted upon the plate 6. Transistors Tr, and Tr, are mounted upon the undersurface of the bottom 4 so that when the bottom 4 is made of a metal, it advantageously serve as a heat sink for the transistors Tr, and Tr,. For the same reason, the transformer T may be mounted upon the undersurface of the bottom 4. The various circuit components such as the transformer T, the resistors R and the capacitors C on the plate 6 and the transistors Tr, and Tr constitute the rectifier circuit, the high frequency oscillator circuit and so on. The top of the cylindrical casing 3 is sealed with a cover 7 made ofa synthetic resin, and a looped coil W, which serves as the output of the oscillator circuit in the base unit I00 is disposed upon the undersurface of the cover 7. The power is supplied to the various circuits in the base unit 100 from the source of commercial power supply through the plug socket I.

The cleaning chamber unit 200 which is removably mounted upon the base unit 100 comprises a cylindrical casing 9 having the same diameter with that of the lowercylindrical casing 3 and mounting therein a cleaning chamber I0 which may be made of for exam ple a stainless steel. Between the bottom of the cleaning chamber and an transducer 12 is interposed an insulating member 11. The transducer 12 is of a type for converting the electrical oscillations into the mechani-' cal oscillations, and is made of for example barium titanate. The lower opening of the cylindrical casing 9 is sealed with a bottom 13 made of a synthetic resin, and a looped coil W is disposed on the upper surface of the bottom 13 in opposed relation with the lower coil W, in the base unit 100. The coil W is electrically connected to the transducer 12 through leads 14.

Next the mode of operation will be described. The cleaning liquid and the parts to be washed and cleaned are filled into the cleaning chamber 10 in the cleaning chamber unit 200, which is mounted upon the base unit 100. The power supply line (not shown) is connected to the plug socket 1 and the on-off power switch 2 is turned on. The oscillator circuit in the base unit 100 is activated and the output energy of high frequency is transmitted to the coil W on the side of the unit 200 from the coil W in the base unit 100 by the electromagnetic induction coupling. The high frequency energy induced in the coil W causes the oscillations of the transducer 12 at the ultrasonic frequency. As a result, the cleaning chamber 10 is oscillated so that the cleaning liquid in the chamber is also oscillated at an ultrasonic frequency. Thus the parts in the chamber 10 are washed and cleaned.

Next referring to FIG. 3, the electrical circuit of the ultrasonic cleaning device in accordance with the present invention will be described. In FIG. 3, the compo- -nent parts in the upper portion above the chain line are incorporated in the base unit 100 whereas the component parts indicated below the chain line are incorporated in the cleaning chamber unit 200. The rectifier circuit comprises a diode D, a resistor R and a capacitor C and rectifies the commercial a-c power supplies through the plug socket l. The oscillator circuit comprises the transistors Tr and Tr,, resistors R R R and R capacitors C C and C the transformer T and the coil W When the d-c current is supplied to the transistors Tr, and Tr from the rectifier circuit, the high frequency current flows through the oscillation circuit comprising the primary of the transformer T, the capacitor C, and the coil W and is fed back to the bases of the transistors Tr and Tr through the secondary windings 16 and 17 of the transformer T so that the oscillation continue in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the further detailed description of this oscillator circuit will not be made in this specification. The high frequency energy of the oscillator circuit is transmitted to the coil W on the side of the cleaning chamber unit 200 from the coil W on the side of the base unit by the electromagnetic induction coupling so that the transducer 12 oscillates at an ultrasonic frequency. In practice the ultrasonic frequency is of the order of 30 KHz.

So far only one preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described, but it will be understood that various modifications and variations may be effected without departing the true spirit of the present invention. For example, the upper and lower casings 3 and 9 may have any cross section such as a rectangular cross section. The volume of the cleaning chamber 10 may be varied depending upon the number and dimensions of parts to be cleaned so that a plurality of cleaning chamber units may be selectively used for specific parts for the best results.

What is claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic cleaning device comprising a base unit and a cleaning chamber unit, said units being separable for easy cleaning,

said base unit comprising a high frequency oscillator,

a first coil actuated by said high frequency oscillator,

said cleaning chamber unit comprising a second coil,

an ultrasonic frequency transducer coupled to said second coil for achieving ultrasonic cleaning action, and

said first and second coils being electromagnetically coupled together.

2. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first coil incorporated in said first casing and said second coil incorporated in said second casing are wound in the form of a loop.

3. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said high frequency oscillator and said first coil are encapsulated in a housing forming said base unit.

4. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 3, wherein said second coil and said ultrasonic frequency transducer are encapsulated in a housing forming said cleaning chamber unit.

5. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first coil is disposed at the top of said base unit and said second coil is disposed at the lower portion of said cleaning chamber unit in opposed relation to said first coil.

6. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 5, wherein said cleaning chamber unit is removably mounted on said base unit.

I! i i 

1. An ultrasonic cleaning device comprising a base unit and a cleaning chamber unit, said units being separable for easy cleaning, said base unit comprising a high frequency oscillator, a first coil actuated by said high frequenCy oscillator, said cleaning chamber unit comprising a second coil, an ultrasonic frequency transducer coupled to said second coil for achieving ultrasonic cleaning action, and said first and second coils being electromagnetically coupled together.
 2. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first coil incorporated in said first casing and said second coil incorporated in said second casing are wound in the form of a loop.
 3. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said high frequency oscillator and said first coil are encapsulated in a housing forming said base unit.
 4. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 3, wherein said second coil and said ultrasonic frequency transducer are encapsulated in a housing forming said cleaning chamber unit.
 5. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first coil is disposed at the top of said base unit and said second coil is disposed at the lower portion of said cleaning chamber unit in opposed relation to said first coil.
 6. An ultrasonic cleaning device as set forth in claim 5, wherein said cleaning chamber unit is removably mounted on said base unit. 